Locked Howa bolt

[Combat_Wombat]

Moved my safe into town on the weekend and to transport I took everything out. Or so I thought as I tilted it a heard a loud bang as the bolt on the top shelf dropped down. Put it to the side and forgot about it until I went to go for a shoot yesterday arvo.

The cocking action in the back of the bolt is all the way forward and it looks like it has rotated 90 degrees too far. This means the bolt won't go fully in the action it pulls up an inch short.

I've never pulled a bolt apart so any tips there would appreciated.

And it would be good to know that someone else has been a proper muppet and dropped one too

[WesleySnipes]

It sounds as if the bolt is not cocked? In which case you won't be able to put it back in.

To cock the bolt, simply twist the knob relative to the main housing to a point where it stays there, then try putting the bolt back in the action.

[1290]

Sounds like you need to re cook your bolt...

[Combat_Wombat]

Forgot to add that I've tried that it it's locked up it moves about 3mm one way or the other but won't go any further.

[WesleySnipes]

If simply recocking (can require significant effort depending on bolt) it is definitely not working then your best bet is to inspect it closely for any faults, inside and out. You may have to do some research on your particular bolt and the best method to safely take it apart if you haven't got any experience. Once this is done it will most likely be easy to find the fault, as the bolt is a fairly simple mechanism.

[Westy]

Cheek this out around the 12 min mark hope it helps???

http://youtu.be/pmUKUCkqNXI

[sbd3927]

It can take a hell of an effort to recock a bolt without enough leverage, 3mm only sounds about right. I did it fiddling with the bolt from my Steyr, at least I knew which way I'd twisted it, had to wrap a twisted teatowel around to get enough grip to return it to the correct position. It took a worrying ten minutes (omg i've stuffed it!). One of those rubber strap wrenches might help too.
There should be some info out there on your bolt, but when you align it with the flat part horizontal, slide it in partway, look at what direction the lug and handle need to move to align with the action, thats the bit you need to grab really hard and twist more than 3mm.

[Westy]

If only he had bought a
Tikka I'd of had it fixed for you in seconds!!!!

[squirrelhunter]

Flogging a dead horse now but it does just sound like the bolt has uncocked.

As said, can be f***ing hard to cock by hand. I don't know about Howa but some just can't be done by fingers and you need a tool to do it.

Manually cocking the bolt on my Ruger to reinsert in the rifle is very hard. I thought I'd broken mine too the first time I did it as turning it felt like I was coming up against a stopper or something, and it was jamming hard against something.

Wasn't though, just needed more muscle. Can barely do it with fingers.

[Press]

Hopefully this helps, from the 1500 manual.

BOLT DISASSEMBLY & REASSEMBLY

It is seldom necessary to dismantle the bolt, as routine cleaning can be accomplished by brushing and wiping off its exterior. However, should more thorough cleaning be needed, proceed as follows:

A. To disassemble: Hold bolt firmly in one hand with the rear of the bolt facing you. With your other hand, rotate the bolt sleeve/ring pin assembly clockwise about 1/3 turn until it is released from the bolt, and remove it rearward.

B. To reassemble (Fig. 11): Align the bolt sleeve/ firing pin assembly so that its small lug (A) enters the slot (B) in the bolt hole and slide the bolt sleeve/firing pin assembly into the bolt until it stops.

Applying heavy pressure, continue pushing the bolt sleeve/firing pin assembly forward until the bolt sleeve bottoms against the rear face of the bolt. While holding it in firmly, rotate the bolt sleeve/firing pin assembly counter-clockwise about 1/3 turn until a slight click is felt. This click is the nose of the cocking piece (C) engaging its shallow detent notch (D) on the rear face of the bolt (Fig. 12).

The firing pin will now be in the cocked position, where it must be in order for the bolt to be correctly reinstalled in the rifle.

NOTE: If the bolt sleeve/firing pin assembly is rotated too far, the cocking piece will snap forward into the uncocked position (Fig. 13). Correct this by hooking the cocking piece on the corner of a wooden workbench and drawing it back while simultaneously turning the bolt sleeve clockwise until it engages the detent notch.

Correct assembly is easily checked by looking at the front face of the bolt (Figs. 14 and 15): the tip of the firing pin (E) should be retracted, and not protruding through the firing pin hole (F).

WARNING!
The bolt sleeve/firing pin assembly is a semipermanent assembly and should not be disassembled except by a gunsmith. These parts are under heavy spring pressure which could cause injury if improperly disassembled without the use of special tools that are required.

fig-11.jpg (10.24 KiB) Viewed 6233 times

fig-12-15.jpg (16.93 KiB) Viewed 6233 times

[Combat_Wombat]

Got it sorted this morning it did need re cocking and in scientific terms it took a metic s**t tonne of force to get it to go back. Thanks for the help and good to know it's not just a trap for young players

[Combat_Wombat]

If only he had bought a
Tikka I'd of had it fixed for you in seconds!!!!

Nah mate if I had a Tikka I would be too busy looking for the magazine to worry about the bolt

[bigfellascott]

Nah mate if I had a Tikka I would be too busy looking for the magazine to worry about the bolt

[Jack V]

The easy way is to gently hold the cocking nose piece at the bottom in a vice and just lift the bolt handle. If the cam surface is dry it can take some force . Lube the cam surface first then lift the bolt handle.

[Gregg]

Got it sorted this morning it did need re cocking and in scientific terms it took a metic s**t tonne of force to get it to go back.

Been there as well.

It can feel like your seconds away from snapping it off on some of the heavier lift ones.